Introduction

(For narrative purposes, the duration of any days, months, & years referenced in this story are the same as their real life equivalent)

With no god to save us, why not create our own? This was the mantra in the early days of the kingdom.

Formed out of necessity twenty-five hundred years ago (ever since their discovery by the Southern Mastig Empire) the CloudStock Kingdom has been at a constant state of war. Previously, they lived in relative stability. Dispersed amongst several nations and a multitude of neutral towns all occupying the same small area of the skies.

Human settlement always concentrated on floating islands of land scattered randomly throughout that drifted with the winds. Some were large enough to sustain entire nations, while others could only hold villages or towns. Resources were scarce and much of what could be used for industrial purposes was mined from the pieces of land or made using grown wood thanks to the realm’s consistently temperate climate. Water would be harvested from the clouds and food was primarily grown locally, but often supplemented by hunting sky fauna.

At first the unified power of the CloudStock Kingdom was a force to be reckoned with, but over time, the vigor and motivation of the nation waned, as the people grew accustomed to living in a constant state of war. New generations soon forgot what life was like before the arrival of the mastigs.

These most recent centuries years have been marked by more defeats than victories at the hands of their foe. Territory, resources and confidence amongst the people had deteriorated. The ruling government, since losing their powerful king who they once thought immortal, have grown desperate to stop the decline of their civilization and mobilized nearly every warrior and magic user to engage in warfare, even in outskirt towns and other small settlements. Naturally, even the people who haven’t been drafted, have also begun to form local militias in order to protect their homes for mastig incursion…